The European Commission recently published the results of a survey it conducted with small- and medium-sized enterprises. Times of Malta reported about them on Wednesday.
The data rings an alarm bell and provides a great deal of food for thought and it would indeed be foolish to ignore these figures. The EU publishes the results of surveys it commissions so that they contribute to policymaking at EU level and the expectation is that they also contribute to policymaking at a national level.
The first consideration to make is that where it is possible to compare results with wave 3 of the SME Barometer conducted by the Chamber of SMEs, the results of the two surveys show very similar trends. One specific question asked in both surveys was to name the most serious problems being faced by respondents from a predetermined list. The EU survey asked for three problems, while the survey of the Chamber of SMEs asked for two.
The lists did not match totally. However, as regards those issues which appeared in both lists, the order of importance was identical: employee shortages, unfair competition and limited demand.
The issues faced by Maltese SMEs are, therefore, not too different from those faced by SMEs in other EU member states. The results of the SME Barometer of the Chamber of SMEs are also to be viewed as being truly the voice of SMEs in Malta.
The economy needs to be restructured in a way that it creates higher value-added jobs for the Maltese
The rest of the EU survey among SMEs focused on skills shortages. The data shows that overall, in the whole of the EU, 52 per cent of respondents found it very difficult or somewhat difficult to find and hire staff with the right skills in the last 24 months. The comparative figure for Malta was 71 per cent. Thirty-two per cent of Maltese respondents said that they tried to hire foreign talent from outside the EU to solve their company’s skill shortage.
This data is thus a strong indication that our current economic model is unsustainable. If Maltese SMEs are finding it difficult to find staff with the right level of skills and about a third of them are seeking talent outside the EU, then it is evident that our economy needs to change tack.
The economy needs to be restructured in a way that it creates higher value-added jobs for the Maltese. The idea of creating jobs for which we have no people available to take them up is insane and will only be of benefit to the few.
Other data revealed that 42 per cent of SMEs face shortages of technicians and customer care staff. Does this say something about our educational system? Manufacturing, industrial services, ICT, the hospitality sector, retailing and distribution are key pillars of our economy, yet SMEs operating in these areas find difficulty in recruiting for their two most important skills.
In addition, 34 per cent of SMEs find persons with a bachelor’s degree the most difficult to recruit. With the past and current output of graduates from the University of Malta, MCAST and other institutions, this data is really an eye-opener.
Fifty per cent of Maltese SMEs said that the most useful type of external support to tackle skills shortages is upskilling training programmes funded by an external entity. In this regard, the expectation of SMEs is being met fully especially with the schemes funded through Jobsplus, using EU money.
As with any survey, we can take the data at face value and leave it at that. That would be ignoring the alarm bells. I strongly believe that we need to address the challenge holistically and focus on the direction our economy should take in future and make policy decisions to help us reach that goal.